FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

Is fish the next big thing? As befits a town that made its name on the ocean, Newport Beach has always had its share of seafood restaurants. More are on the way. The next three restaurants set to open at Irvine Co. shopping centers all specialize in ocean cuisine, and a new seafood restaurant opened last month at Crystal Cove Promenade. Though the planned openings might make it seem as if the Newport Beach-based company is banking on fish, leasing executive Jeff Dodd said that is not the case.

Bryce Alderton Curtis Strange didn't set any goals for his debut season on the PGA Champions Tour. The two-time U.S. Open champion, who will make his first appearance in the Toshiba Senior Classic on Friday at Newport Beach Country Club, prefers to follow a straight-forward philosophy. "I've always been concerned with the best I could do each day," Strange said after hitting balls for 1 1/2 hours. "If you wake up every day with an optimistic point of view, the end result will take care of itself."

Paul Clinton Dark mahogany paneling, thick smoky air and a "sea of suits" don't have a place at Fleming's Steakhouse, Chief Executive Bill Allen said of a steakhouse that, only slightly more than four years after its founding here, is taking the restaurant business by storm. The Newport Coast resident, who founded the restaurant in 1998 with noted restaurateur Paul Fleming, set out to create a steakhouse that would be different from Morton's, Ruth's Chris and other more traditional steak servers.

NEWPORT BEACH — Tim Simpson led by one stroke after the first round, but that didn’t give him any sort of advantage in Saturday’s second round of the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club. Both Simpson and Bernhard Langer hit tee shots into the right-side trees on the ninth, prompting murmurs of “I can relate to that,” from the gallery as both men hit out of the rough. Simpson bogeyed, while Langer made par. Mark Johnson, the third in the group, shot from the edge of the rough on the left and came away even on the par-four hole.

COSTA MESA — Ed Fawcett started a golf tournament 14 years ago in hopes of raising money for the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce. The tournament has developed into a convention of sorts, one where, at least for a portion of the day, businesses gather at a golf course instead of inside a building. Monday's 14th annual Costa Mesa Community Golf Classic at Costa Mesa Country Club's Los Lagos course generated 128 golfers playing a "shamble" format, one where two best scores per hole are used after playing from the best drive from the foursome.

ORANGE - Dennis Rodman hasn't rebounded from his personal and financial woes. The former NBA star, whose loud parties once riled his Newport Beach neighbors, made an appearance Tuesday at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, where he faced possible jail time for unpaid spousal and child support. However, the 50-year-old saw his sentencing moved to May 29, pending a court decision in which is his attorney, Linnea Willis, is seeking to vacate the ruling on four counts of contempt of court.

ROTARY HONORS STUDENTS: Members and guests of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise honored four Monte Vista/Back Bay High School students and their principal, Carole Castaldo, at a meeting earlier this week. Syd Lucas, community service director for the club, noted the group's five-year involvement with the school, including sending students to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp, providing annual scholarships, the purchase of software for classrooms and the recruitment of tutors for students.